Explosive.



UNITED STATES PAIENT onnion.

J OSEPH SAYERS, WALTER ATKINSON WILSON, AND JAMES THORBURN, OF ARDEER, SCOTLAND, ASSIGNORS TO E. I. DU PONT DE NEMO'URS POWDER COMPANY, OF WIL- MINGTON,- DELAWARE.

EXPLOSIVE.

No Drawing.

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that we, JosnrH SAYEns, WALTER ATKINSON WILSO and JAMES TIIORBURN, subjects of the King of the i United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and residing at Ardeer, Ayrshire, Scotland, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Explosives, of which'the 1 tri-nitro-toluol, &c., and various attempts 5 have already been made to'utilize this property in the production of explosives which \vill not be liable to freeze at low temperatures.-,-, As appears from patent literature, it I has also been proposed, in preparing various explosive mixtures, to incorporate with these j ingredients suitable oxidizing agents and in certain cases also suitable combustibles of which wood-meal is one of those recommended,

Starting from this standpoint, we have aimed at incorporating in a blasting explo sive a sufficiently large proportion of nitrobodies soluble in nitro-glycerin to secure the desired result Without rendering the explosive too insensible to detonation, and have adjusted the'proport-ions of the other ingredients present, particularly of the oxidizing agent, 6. 9., perchlorate of potash, and ofthe combustible, e. (].,WOOd-I118Etl, with the result that we have succeeded in producing compositions of high explosive power which remains substantially undiminished at low temperatures.

The said compositions consist of nitroglycerin having dissolved therein a. mixture of Intro-bodies, viz mono-nitro-naphthalene, di-nitro-toluol, tri-nitro-toluol, soluble in large proportions, constituting a solution which remains unfrozen at low. temperatures the solution being gelatinized or not in known manner by addition of nitro-cotton or nitro-starch, and the solution or jelly being mixed with an oxidizing agent such as perchlorate of potassium or of sodium or of ammonium or a mixture of such perchlorate, or in lieu of or as well'as the perchlorate or perchlorates, one or more of the corresponding nitrates, or chlorates, and with a combustible which is also absorbent such for instance as wood-meal, flour, bran or the like, With or Without the addition of graph- Ap ilication filed November 15, 1910. Serial No. 592,535.

ite, magnesium carbonate, chalk or the like. The proportions of the aforesaid ingredients which we have found to be most sultable are as follows I I 1 I v I N1tro-glycer1n 23. 83 Nitro-cotton l. 60 Monomum-naphthalene v 1. 09 Di-nitro-toluol 3. 27 Tri -nitro-toluol 5. 83 Potassium perchlorate 52. XVood-meal (dry) 12.00

i Nitro-glycerin 18. 89 Nitro-cotton (l. 27 Mono-nitronaphthalene 0. 87 Di-nitro-toluol 2. 60 Tri-nitro-toluol 4. 62 Potassium perchlorate 58. 75

Wood-meal 9. 51 Magnesium carbonate O. Graphite 2. 99

N itro-glycerln 17 2O Nitro-cotton 1. 3e Mono-nitro-naph thalene 1. 2O Di-nitro-toluoL 3. 59 Tri-nitrotoluol I 6. 37 Potassium chlorate 60. 3O lVood-meal 10.00

Ni'tro-glycerin 16. 0O Nitro-cotton 1. 24 Mouo-nitronaphthalene 1. 1O Di-nitro-toluol 3. 34 Tri-nitro-toluol' 5. 92 Ammonium nitrate 69. 90 Wood-meal' 2. 50

I 100. 00 Nltro-glyeerin; 15. 80 Mono-nitro-napht-halene 1. 10 Di-nitro-toluol 3. 80 Tri-nitro-toluol 5. 80 Potassium nitrate 41. 0O Woodmeal 32. 0O ()halk 0. 50

[Che proportions given in the above examples should not be materially departed from, as the success obtained with our explosives is consequential upon the selection of the proper proportions.

To prevent misunderstanding it may be explained that the proportions of all the iiutredionts enumerated in the various; examples given are applicable only for the pavlicular example, 6. g.,'the proportion of wood-meal in example (4), viz :2.50,- Wl'ich approximates to the proportion of \vcoduneal used in known explosives of a di lcrent character-holds good only for tll'lt particular example.

We do not herein claim the proportions of the compositions set out under the heading-s (2), (3), (4) and (5) as the sameform respectively the subject matter of ap 1ica tious, Serial Nos. 623,446, 623,447, 623,448, and 623,449, fi1ed April 26, 1911.

Having now described our invention, what we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is An explosive compound comprising nitroglycerin 23.83 per cent., nitro cotton 1.60 per cent., 1nono-nitro-naphthalene 1.09 per cent.,

di-nitro-toluol 3.27 per cent., tri-nitro-toluol 5.88 per cent., potassium perchlorate 52.35 per cent. and wood-meal (dry) 12.00 per cent.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification in the presence of subscribing witnesses.

JOSgSAYERS.

WALTER ATKINSON WILSON. JAMES THORBURN. Witnesses MATHEW CL'oND, lVmmAM Rm'roUL, 1. E. EYnEs, VVM. ,DALZELL. 

